Street-box and shut-off for water



2 Y E L S D N Tl. L E

STREET BOX AND SHUT-UEE EUR WATER, GAS, 0R OTHER FLUID SERVICE.

Patented MayZQ, 1888.

IIHlIlllllI-I W/TNESSES:

ATTR/VEY,

(No Model.) Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. LINDSLBY.

STREET BOX AND SHUT-OEE EOE WATER, GAS, 0R OTHER ELUIDSEEVIGE. No. 888,472. Patented May 29, 1888.

'qillglllllllllllll n. Patins. pmu-umognpm wnxingm un NITED STREET-BOX AND SHUT-OFF FOR WATER, GAS, R OTHER FLUID SERVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 383,472, dated May 29, 1888.

Application led April 7, 1887. Serial No. 234,072.

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD LINDsLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Boxes and Shut-Offs for Water, Gas, and other Fluid Service; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to improvements in street-boxes and shut-offs for water, gas, and other iiuid service; and it consists in a b'ox and associate parts, substantially as shown and described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figurel is a vertical central section of the box and hydrant attachments. Fig. 2 is a similar view at right angles to the first, with the hydrant attachments omitted and thescrew top or plug which closes the top of the box and the extra bushing for the key in position. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the box complete with the top and extra bushing in position, as in Fig. 2. Fig. Lis a perspective of the tap or plug, and Fig. 5 a perspective of the bushing separately. Fig. 6 is a perspective and Fig. 7 a plan view of the plug which covers the drip-orifice in the box. Fig. 8 is a perspective and Fig. 9 a plan View of the valve in the bottom of the box. Fig. 10 shows the lower end of the key which is seen in suspended position in Fig. l. Fig. 11 is a View of the upper section of the hydrant with a huid-pressure gage attached to the spout or nozzle.

The device here shown is designed to be employed in the distribution of water, natural gas, illuminating-gas, oil, and other fluids to residences and other places, and is constructed with special reference to simplicity and convenience, as well as to overcome material objections in street-boxes and street shut-offs as heretofore made. These shut-offs and the service-pipes are designed to be located below the frost-line in the earth, so as to protect said parts from the action of the frost; but the boxes that extend to the surface and through which the internal mechanism is reached and controlled necessarily are exposed to the frost (No model.)

and liable to be damaged or permanently impaired thereby.

It may be said to be the object of the first part of my invention to obviate this difficulty and to make surface connections or boxes which are proof against frost and differences or changes in temperature. This is effected by making the box-tubingin sections,as shown. Thus we have a lower section, A, including in this case a part of the shut-ofi' mechanism, the upper section, B, having its top portion about the usual height in relation to the surface of the earth, and the intermediate pipe or tube, O, extending, as shown, into each of the sections A B, and packed with lead or other suitable packing within said sections. At its lower end the tube G rests in a thimble, D, which in turn is supported on a ledge or annular shoulder, a, in the section A. By this construction I dispense with the screw-thread connections heretofore used in this character of devices, and which are objectionable because they are rigid and cannot yield under the iniiuence of frost, and substitute connections which, while they are equally effective in confining the iiuid, will readily accommodate themselves to the action of the frost at either connection and sustain no damage when freezing occurs.

E is the shut-off valve. (Shown most clearly in Fig. 8.) This valvehas two seating-surfaces, e e', the surface e being adapted to rest against the upper seat, a', when the passage way through the vertical tubing is closed, and the surface e resting upon the lower seat, a, when for any reason it is desired to stop the iiow of fluid through the service-pipes F G. lf the said valve is adj usted to an intermediate position between the two seats a a, the fluid will be free to iiow through the service-pipes and into the vertical tubing as well. For the latter purpose the valve is provided with a transverse slot or opening, e, extending through from side to side above the upper seating-surface, c, and above the diaphragm e therein, and theintericr of the valve is open from that point to the top. Above the transverse slot e on its outside the valve is screwthreaded 'to engage the screw-threads on the casing or' tube A, and on its inside at 6 is a key-seat adapted to be engaged by the key K,

IOO

, at Z, which fits snugly upon the seat Z on .the

casing. The seat Z is tapped by a drain-passage, Z, which, when the plug L is raised and the valve E is seated to prevent the iiow of fluid into the vertical tubing, serves to drain the duid from said tubing and to prevent freezing therein. The sole function of the plug L is to control the drain passage or opening, and

d it is provided with a key-seat, Z", in its upper interior portion, to be engaged by the key K in the same manner as the valve E. Between the key and valve, and partly in each, as indicated by the letters e5 and Z, respectively, is an annular chamber, in which the angular head K of the key is adapted to turn, so as to enable it to be entered into the seat in the valve E, and to be removed therefrom through the plug L. Normally the plug L will be seated, as shown, and will only be raised when the tubingis to be cleared of its contained iiuid.

In Fig. 1 I show an extra section or joint, M, attached to the tubing of the box as an extension thereof, and which is aboveground for convenience in attaching hose or making other connections therewith atm. Vhen this section is employed, the structure serves the purpose of a hydrant. Any length or form of ex tension other than that shown can be adopted, if desired, and when not in use may be replaced by the cap or top shown in Fig. 4. When the iiuid is drawn through thejoint M, or what may be termed the hydrant,7 the valve will of course be lowered somewhat to permit the fluid to rise in the hydrant; but this will not close the passage between the servicepipes.

Another important advantage in this construction is the facility it offers for detecting leakage or water waste in the service-pipes beyond the shut-off. Suppose, for example, that the pipe G connects with a residence. If the shutoff is closed against the admission of water from the main, it will of course open the hydrant to the back iiow and pressure of the water from the residence. Then, if a suitable pressure-gage has been attached to the nozzle or outlet of the hydrant, as shown in Fig. l1, it will at once record the pressure of the'fluid in the residence, and by leaving the gage in position for a time the fact of leakage, if any, will be accurately recorded on the gage. In this way the condition of the pipes in a building can be ascertained in the street and without entering the building, which will be of great convenience to water-inspectors, as well as avoiding annoyance to occupants of dwellings when inspections are made.

O, Fig. 4, is a plug or tap adapted to close the top of the box when the section M is not used. This plug is screwed down into the box fiush with its top, and has an annular chamber provided with recesses o opposite each other. These recesses are designed to afford catches or locks for the bushing P. (Shown in Fig. 5.) The bushing P consists of two sections, p, having lugs p,which engage the recesses o, as shown in Fig. 2, angular faces p,which form a key-seat, and a spring, 19', which connects the sections. When the bushing is in position on the box, as seen in Fig. 3, a key-seat is formed corresponding to the seats in the plug L and the shut-off valve, so that with the said bushing, which is small and convenient to carry, and a key such as is shown, a person is equipped to go from box to box and remove, adjust, or regulate the several plugs and valves, and will require no other tools or implements.

Much inconvenience to gas consumers especially and expense to gas companies occurs in case of a break or leak in the street-box, and such break or leak is very liable to occur with the old style of boxes in the higher latitudes where frost penetrates to a great depth and its action is correspondingly powerful. Thus, for example, suppose the pipes and shutoff mechanism to be located four feet below the surface and the frost penetrates two or three feet, which is liable to occur any winter. The expansion of the earth or the lifting tendency of the frost would in that case be such as to raise and carry with it the upper part of the box,while the lower part would be held down by the pipes on either side. Then, if there were no provision for this action, as there is none in the old boxes, something would have to yield, and a break and leak at the weakest point would bethe result. This is a common occurrence in all cities, and it is one object of my invention to overcome the difficulty by the extensible connection shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A street-box havingamain supply-pipe, and two branch pipes leading therefrom, and each provided with channels to convey fluid directly from the source of supply,the supplypipe and the branch pipe above it each being provided with a separate seat, and single valve constructed to occupy either of said seats, substantially as set forth.

2. In a street-box, a main supply-pipe, and branch pipes leading from a common opening in said pipe, and one of said pipes being in a direct line with said opening, in combination with a single valve provided with two opposite seating-faces, and an internal duid-channel having an inductionopening from the outside above said seating-faces, and located to control the flow of iiuid through the opening in the main pipe and through the branch pipes, substantiallyas shown and described.

3. In a street-box and shut-off having two valve-seats, a valve between said seats pro- IIO vided with a hollow neck and an opening above the seats leading into said neck, substantially as set forth. f1

4L. In a street-box and shut-off, a doublel'aced Valve having a hollow screw-threaded neck, a fluid-passage'through said neck above the faces, and a seat for a turning key in said neck, substantially as set forth.

5. A street-boX formed with a main-valve seat, a drip-orifice above the main-valve seat, and a valve-seat about said orifice, in combination with a main valve, and a plug separate from the main valve, and having a fluid-passage through it, and faced about its side to cover the drip-oriiice, substantially as set forth.

6. In a street-box and shut-off having a main valve to control the fluid-supply, and formed with a chamber above said valve,with a drip-oriiice at its side, in combination with a plug having a passage-way through it, and faced about its sides to cover the drip-orifice, with means to adjust the plug separately, substantially as set forth.

7. In a street-box, the casing provided with a drip-oriiice above the main valve, and an annular shoulder, as a, above said orifice, in combination with a tube resting on said shoulder, and a plug provided with a iiuid-passage through it, and faced about its sides to close the drip-orifice, substantially as set forth.

8. In a street-box, the casing provided with a main-valve seat, and a driporice above said seat, and a chamber about the driporiice terminating in a shoulder in the casing, in combination with a tube resting on said shoulder, a main valve, and a plug adjustable in the said chamber to close the driplorice, substantially as set forth.

9. In street-boxes, a sectional bushing con- 4o structed with an irregular outer seatingsurface, and each section having part of a keyseat formed on its inner face, in combination with a plug for the street-box,having an irregular seat for the bushing,whereby the bushing 45.

is prevented from turning, substantially as set forth.

10. In a street-box, a bushing consisting of two sections having lugs outside and faces inside shaped to form an angular key-seat when the bushing is set for use, in combination with a plug provided with a seat for said bushing, substantially as set forth.

11. In a street-boX, a bushing formed in two sections connected by a spring,in combination with a plug for the street-box, provided with a seat in which the sections lock and form a key-seat, substantially as set forth.

12. In a street-box, a lower section rigidly connected with the supply-pipe, a separate upper section, and a tube sleeved and packed in said sections at its respective ends, whereby the upper section alone or with the intermediate tube may be raised, as by frost, without impairing the box, substantially as set 65 forth.

EDWARD LIN DSLEY. 

